The days have been H-O-T here and we wanted to venture out to see a few more ruins before we headed to our next destination.  We spoke to our new friends from Sweden and they advised us against Catania for the day due to the incredible amount of traffic.  We opted for Siracusa instead and decided to venture an hour out to see the ruins.  To avoid the crazy heat we woke up early and arrived in Siracusa around 10:30.  There were a lot of people there already but it wasn’t so crowded where you could not enjoy the park.  The ancient site is actually north of Sicracusa so it was fairly easy to get to and parking was a breeze. You can park right along the street by the park as opposed to Taormina where you have to park and either be bused in or hike all the way uphill through town. In any case we all agreed that it was one of our favorites on this side of the island.  There was SO much more than an ancient Greek amphitheater like the Roman theater, the Ear of Dionysius ( a huge gave with amazing acoustics ), an old quarry, burial chambers, the Tomb of Archimedes, and gorgeous gardens.  The kids were melting by the time we were finished and visiting the island of Ortygia in Siracusa was out of the question.  Regardless, the drive to the Archaeological Park was a winner for our family.